STATEMENT: On the U.S. House GOP Tax Bill

"While we won’t have a detailed analysis of the U.S. House tax cut bill released today for a week or so, it is a direct descendant of previous GOP-Trump tax plans, so the rough impact of the bill becoming law is fairly clear.

"Republican rhetoric that portrays the bill as benefiting the middle class is hollow. We expect that around half of the benefit of the legislation will flow to the top 1% of Pennsylvanians — those with an average income of $1.7 million. Pennsylvanians in the bottom 60% of families will see little benefit. And because of limitations on the deductibility of state and local taxes, a significant portion of middle class and upper middle families will see their taxes increase under the plan.

"Nor do we find Republican claims that massive cuts in corporate taxes will spur the economy at all plausible. At a time when corporate profits are near historic highs and interest rates low, there is no reason to expect that cuts in corporate taxes will lead to new investment and job creation. What would spur new investment is an increase in overall consumption, which will not result from tax cuts targeted to the very rich, who save a large portion of their income."